Classicism & Neoclassicism•Classicism is a type of literary tradition or aesthetic attitudes or principles based on the art of Greece and Rome.•In the context of the tradition, Classicism refers either to the art produced in antiquity or to later art inspired by that of antiquity.•Neoclassicism always refers to the art produced later but inspired by the ancients, which, of course, excludes the ancients themselves.•Classicism, by the standards of many critics, is not necessarily defined by the boundaries of time. Thus the terms Classicism and Neoclassicism are often used interchangeably.•When used to refer to an aesthetic attitude, Classicism invokes those characteristics normally associated with the art of antiquity: harmony, symmetry, proportion, balance, smoothness, order, clarity, restraint, universality, reason, logic, form, discipline, and objectivity.•In the Renaissance period, people equated Classicism and beauty.•By the middle of the 18th century, the authoritative equation of Classicism and beauty was challenged by longings for the sublime, so that romantic fantasies, suggestive allusions, and bizarre inventions came to be more highly valued than classicist clarity.•In England, Classicism in literature arose later than in France and reached its height in the 18th-century writings of John Dryden and Alexander Pope.•In the early 20th century, T.S. Eliot and proponents of the New Criticism were sometimes considered classicists because of their emphasis on form and discipline.Neoclassicism in English Literature•Neoclassicism: A term used to describe the classicism that dominated English literature from the Restoration to the late 18th century. Modeling itself on the literature of ancient Greece and Rome, neoclassicism exalts the virtues of proportion, unity, harmony, grace, decorum, taste, manners, and restraint. It values realism and reason over imagination and emotion, mobilizing a utilitarian language of common sense, conventional imagery, and accurate diction. Wit and satire flourished in this period, as did the ode and verse written in heroic couplets. The theater featured heroic drama, written in verse, and comedies of manners, written in prose. •Neoclassicism was a movement whose artists looked to the classical texts for their creative inspiration in an effort to imitate classical form. The writers in particular drew on what were considered to be classical virtues—simplicity, order, restraint, logic, economy, accuracy, and decorum—to produce prose, poetry, and drama. Literature was of value in accordance with its ability to not only delight, but also instruct.•What these writers longed for began as a reaction to the Renaissance. Neoclassicists believed in Greek ideals, in restraint of passions, and valued communication as an exchange rather than individual self-expression. The Renaissance celebrated human potential, individualism, imagination, and mysticism. In contrast to the Renaissance, neoclassicists saw humans as being limited in potential and imperfect in form. They distrusted innovation and invention and believed in exercising restraint in personal expression. The efforts of the neoclassical writers resulted in the creation of a polite, urbane, and witty art form that was as instructive as it was entertaining.Alexander Pope (1688-1744)•English poet, wrote highly polished verse, often in a didactic or satirical tone.•he brought the heroic couplet to ultimate perfection.•Didactic: This term describes works of literature that aim to teach some moral, religious, political, or practical lesson. The term usually refers to literature in which the message is more important than the form. The aims of many of the neoclassical writers were instructional, as many of them were moralists and critics of English politics, and all shared an interest in conveying their position.•Satire: Neoclassical writers would, time and again, prove to pose a threat to the monarchy, resorting to their own form of social protest, the written word expressed as satire, to inform, educate, and inspire public outrage. This literary form was commonly used to make light of a wide range of contemporary concerns. Many of the neoclassical writers—Pope, Swift, Dryden, Defoe, Samuel Richardson, Samuel Johnson—wrote satires on what they viewed to be some of the social and political excesses of the age.Alexander Pope: An Essay on Criticism’Tis more to guide than spur the Muse’s steed,Restrain his fury than provoke his speed;The winged courser, like a generous horse,Shows most true mettle when you check his course.……True wit is na ture to advantage dress’d,What oft was thought, but ne’er so well express’d,Something, whose truth convinc’d at sight we find,That gives us back the image of our mind.As shades more sweetly recommend the light,So modest plainness sets off sprightly wit.For works may have more wit than does ’em good,As bodies perish through excess of blood.。